Distraction Politics
Came across this story today (since I've had some time to just sit and read):
ISP snooping gaining support
The explosive idea of forcing Internet providers to record their customers' online activities for future police access is gaining ground in state capitols and in Washington, D.C.
Top Bush administration officials have endorsed the concept, and some members of the U.S. Congress have said federal legislation is needed to aid law enforcement investigations into child pornography. A bill is already pending in the Colorado State Senate.
This bothers me for a few reasons. The main one being the idea that keeping potentially tons of information (and possibly content!!) for every Internet user can not possibly be a good idea.
What I'm really going to complain about, though, is the reason being given for the idea: to aid law enforcement investigations into child pornography."
Really? My, what an original and nobel reason.
I absolutely despise the way politicians and would-be dictators trot out "protecting the children" as justification for everything. Especially if it may seem a little Big Brother-ish if presented in any other light. Because, you know, if you say you're doing it to protect the kids, anyone who complains about it obviously doesn't care about the children. And people like that just can't be trusted. After all... it the children and their safety we're talking about.
Bull. What they're doing is distracting everyone from the real issues. In this case, the issues being that the powers that be want to collect more data about what you and I do just in case it may help them catch a criminal--any kind of criminal from drug dealer to child pornographer to terrorist to subversive. And just like all of the other former and (allegedly) ongoing plans to collect massive amounts of data, it won't work.
I saw screw the children. Well, not literally, of course. But when it comes to big over-reaching initiatives like this one I will not believe you if you say you're doing it for the kids. It's not your job, Mister Government Man, to track the minutia of people's lives to be sure they're not hurting little Johnny and Suzy. That's the job the parents. And if the parents are the ones causing the problem? Then it's the job of the extended family--and that extended family includes the community at large.
Here's the reality of it: there's always going to be child porn and children exploited in various ways. Right now, we are infinitely better off then we were a century or two ago in that arena. Some of it was, in fact, due to legislation (like child labor laws). But that legislation was targeted specifically at child issues. It didn't apply anywhere else.
At best, this new proposal is a band-aid on the sucking chest wound that is the disintegration of the family. And by "family" I mean a group of people that look out for one another on a regular basis. There was a time, not too long ago (and some of you reading this may have grown up with it, too), where the community at large was as good a part of your family as your real Uncle Steve or Aunt Marie. They looked out for us. Not out of paranoia, but out of genuine--and open--concern.
I know that in my town, you couldn't get away with much without word making it back to your parents. At least for a few years. Then the atmosphere of the world changed a bit. It was the 80s--the "Me" decade--and everyone got litigious. People still looked out for one another, but the attitude behind it changed. It wasn't because they cared... it was because they didn't want to get in trouble for something that happened. That fear and paranoia has cascaded now into a direct aversion exhibited by many people. An aversion to actually do something when they see a wrong being committed.
Luckily, more and more now, I think that's finally passing.
But the Government isn't doing anything to help that. Especially when it tries to legislate morality and "community values."
*sigh*
The good news is, the article above is actually critical enough of not just the feasibility of proposal but the overall implications of it that they cover all the concerns I have.
I'd like to think something like this would never get passed. Unfortunately, Europe already has (to an extent) done it. The European plan is set to go into effect next year.
Everyone get your net anonymizers now while they're still (mostly) legal. Better encourage that new Internet backbone that's been talked about for the last decade... that way we can have the old one.
ISP snooping gaining support
The explosive idea of forcing Internet providers to record their customers' online activities for future police access is gaining ground in state capitols and in Washington, D.C.
Top Bush administration officials have endorsed the concept, and some members of the U.S. Congress have said federal legislation is needed to aid law enforcement investigations into child pornography. A bill is already pending in the Colorado State Senate.
This bothers me for a few reasons. The main one being the idea that keeping potentially tons of information (and possibly content!!) for every Internet user can not possibly be a good idea.
What I'm really going to complain about, though, is the reason being given for the idea: to aid law enforcement investigations into child pornography."
Really? My, what an original and nobel reason.
I absolutely despise the way politicians and would-be dictators trot out "protecting the children" as justification for everything. Especially if it may seem a little Big Brother-ish if presented in any other light. Because, you know, if you say you're doing it to protect the kids, anyone who complains about it obviously doesn't care about the children. And people like that just can't be trusted. After all... it the children and their safety we're talking about.
Bull. What they're doing is distracting everyone from the real issues. In this case, the issues being that the powers that be want to collect more data about what you and I do just in case it may help them catch a criminal--any kind of criminal from drug dealer to child pornographer to terrorist to subversive. And just like all of the other former and (allegedly) ongoing plans to collect massive amounts of data, it won't work.
I saw screw the children. Well, not literally, of course. But when it comes to big over-reaching initiatives like this one I will not believe you if you say you're doing it for the kids. It's not your job, Mister Government Man, to track the minutia of people's lives to be sure they're not hurting little Johnny and Suzy. That's the job the parents. And if the parents are the ones causing the problem? Then it's the job of the extended family--and that extended family includes the community at large.
Here's the reality of it: there's always going to be child porn and children exploited in various ways. Right now, we are infinitely better off then we were a century or two ago in that arena. Some of it was, in fact, due to legislation (like child labor laws). But that legislation was targeted specifically at child issues. It didn't apply anywhere else.
At best, this new proposal is a band-aid on the sucking chest wound that is the disintegration of the family. And by "family" I mean a group of people that look out for one another on a regular basis. There was a time, not too long ago (and some of you reading this may have grown up with it, too), where the community at large was as good a part of your family as your real Uncle Steve or Aunt Marie. They looked out for us. Not out of paranoia, but out of genuine--and open--concern.
I know that in my town, you couldn't get away with much without word making it back to your parents. At least for a few years. Then the atmosphere of the world changed a bit. It was the 80s--the "Me" decade--and everyone got litigious. People still looked out for one another, but the attitude behind it changed. It wasn't because they cared... it was because they didn't want to get in trouble for something that happened. That fear and paranoia has cascaded now into a direct aversion exhibited by many people. An aversion to actually do something when they see a wrong being committed.
Luckily, more and more now, I think that's finally passing.
But the Government isn't doing anything to help that. Especially when it tries to legislate morality and "community values."
*sigh*
The good news is, the article above is actually critical enough of not just the feasibility of proposal but the overall implications of it that they cover all the concerns I have.
I'd like to think something like this would never get passed. Unfortunately, Europe already has (to an extent) done it. The European plan is set to go into effect next year.
Everyone get your net anonymizers now while they're still (mostly) legal. Better encourage that new Internet backbone that's been talked about for the last decade... that way we can have the old one.